SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth built double-digit leads in each half, but visiting Puget Sound rallied twice for a 66-59 overtime victory in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game on Sunday afternoon at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Pirates (6-11 overall, 3-5 NWC) missed an opportunity to even their NWC record despite opening a 15-point margin in the first half and an 11-point advantage in the second. Puget Sound avoided a second loss in Eastern Washington to improve to 11-6, 5-3.
The visiting Loggers came out cold, missing their first nine shots from the field, allowing Whitworth to open a 9-0 lead. The Pirates ended the opening quarter with a 15-8 advantage. Whitworth eventually stretched the lead to 28-13 on Rachel Cram's three-pointer midway through the second, but only scored two points the rest of the way. UPS rallied to tie the game 30-30 on Natalie Sefair-Lopez's basket just before the buzzer.
The Loggers took the momentum into the opening minutes of the third quarter, outscoring Whitworth 8-2, taking a 38-32 lead on Addison Reardan's three-pointer. The Pirates responded with a 16-2 run, going ahead 48-40 on Alyssa Fitzgerald's three-pointer. Whitworth led 53-42 after three quarters thanks to a three-point play by Kimberly Dewey.
The Pirates would not make another basket in the game. Puget Sound outscored Whitworth 15-4 in the fourth quarter as the Bucs went 0-9 from the field and 4-6 at the free throw line. The Loggers used a withering full court press to force turnovers by Whitworth on six out of seven possessions midway through the period. Sophie Nilsson tied the game 57-57 with 1:25 left. Both teams turned over the ball once before Dewey was blocked on her potential game-winning shot in the final second.
The Pirates' shooting woes continued into overtime as they went 0-6 from the floor. Puget Sound outscored Whitworth 7-2 in the extra period.
Dewey, Fitzgerald and Zalissa Sanfo all scored a dozen points apiece to lead the Bucs. Sanfo added 10 boards and three blocks. Cram scored a career-high eight points off the bench.
Paige Gerhart had 12 points and 11 rebounds for UPS, while Nilsson had 10 off the bench.
Whitworth will open the second half of its conference schedule next weekend at league-leading Pacific (Ore.) and Willamette.
